Solution

Farm.ink –Big Data Designed for Small Farmers

This solution addresses matching farmers with buyers in Kenya for farmers

  • F1a071c0 73e1 4a3a b647 da815b0ad877

Problem Description

When it comes to harvest time many farmers start looking for a buyer for their produce. It can take weeks - farmers message their friends and family to ask if they know anyone, they visit the local market and talk to brokers. Unfortunately all too often produce is sold at below market prices or not sold at all.

Building Blocks

Story

Farm.Ink's mission is to create the most simple and scalable way to connect farmers and buyers. They have built the world's first market matching chatbot. Messaging the bot is just like messaging a friend. The bot can understand what the farmer is selling, where and their harvest date. It can interpret spelling errors, speak in multiple languages and help guide the farmer through the process.

"We are still in Beta, testing and refining our product with an initial group of users. However, through word of mouth alone, hundreds of farmers have contacted us asking to try our service. This means we could reach thousands of farmers not just in the first year but the first month."

Topics

  • Agriculture

    • Video

    Modules

    • Innovative Resilience Projects & Design Thinking

      • Audience

      • Private For-Profit Sector

        • Place Typology

        • Rural, Developing

          • Photos

          • F1a071c0 73e1 4a3a b647 da815b0ad877
          • 3e27c75c 8d72 4627 8022 e1b853d14cd8
          • 64286c62 898c 49ef a8bf feb54cbde4cf
          • D061db6b 8325 41a7 91d8 366a1c97e409

          Organisations Involved

          Contributed By

          • Georgia Barrie, farm.ink

          Solution Stage

          One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more
          STAGE SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING FINANCE REQUIRED KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED GOAL
          Making the case4
          Business development and evaluation
          • Market sizing, development and testing
          • Business case analysis
          • Identifying cashable savings
          • Prepare to adapt approach, based on evaluation results and user feedback
          MEDIUM
          • Grant funding or funding out of investment
          MEDIUM
          A stronger case with cost and benefit projections developed through practical trials and experiments, involving potential users
          Clarity about what warrants implementation and funding

          Submitted By

          Bryan Lehrer74310022 copy

          Key Details

          Activity